MONTREAL/March 19, 2002—
Dr. Frederick Lowy, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University, Lillian Vineberg, Chair of Concordia's Board of Governors and FranÁois Legault, Minister of State for Education and Youth, signed a performance contract today, Monday, March 19. The contract details the allocation of reinvestment funding which amounts to $51 million over the next three years.
The Rector hailed this agreement as a promising one saying "it will allow Concordia to hire new professors and student advisors in order to further focus on developing research in high-demand sectors, in particular in information technologies and communications."
ìIn fact, we have already succeeded in doubling enrolment in high technology generally and information technology specifically, thereby anticipating rather that merely responding to the Government's own priorities,î Dr. Lowy added.
The University is committed to increasing its faculty ranks ]by 150 professors by 2003 and sees this as one of its highest priorities. These new professors will be added in growth areas such as engineering, biomedical science, business, information systems, aviation, computer animation and multimedia. They will also be hired in other areas where the student to professor ratio should be improved. The remaining reinvestment funds will be allocated to the reinforcement and support of student services and faculty development.
The university's mission is to provide programs which respond to societal needs as well as the needs of individual students, and to make those programs widely accessible. In addition, the University is modifying its graduation criteria to ensure that students obtain a broad general education at the undergraduate level while still specializing in a particular discipline. Thanks to a solid intellectual foundation, students will be equipped with the additional abilities they require to succeed in the workplace.
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Over the past few years, Concordia has taken an aggressive approach to academic planning and to balancing its budget. Between 1994 and June 2000, the University restructured 151 programs and suspended admission to 15 others. We believe our efforts in this area actually surpass the guidelines set out by the ministry, were self-initiated and make Concordia a leader among Quebec universities. Furthermore, we are committed to the ongoing evaluation and rationalization of our programs in the future.
Concordia has effectively balanced its budget and reduced its accumulated deficit from $37.6 million in 1995 to $17.7 million in 2000, despite the budgetary restrictions of the last five years.
The University is also actively developing a new initiative ñ the creation of the Loyola International College. It will bring together students in the humanities, liberal arts and the social sciences to explore the fundamental issues behind internationalization and globalization.
Concordia is one of four Montreal universities with a strong tradition of accessibility and interdisciplinarity. The Ministry of Education recognizes the importance and unique nature of Concordia's mission. With the reinvestment of $51 million, the University will continue to attain the high standards it has set for itself ñ opening the doors to higher education to students of all ages, backgrounds and means.
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